


Holiday Hype

by Padfoots_Pawprint



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: F/M, Fluff, cross-posted on ffn, kid things, kid!Maka, kid!Soul, kindergarten times
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2019-10-02 08:04:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17260598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Padfoots_Pawprint/pseuds/Padfoots_Pawprint
Summary: Every month has a special day, but this popular pair has moments that make these days even more special. Join them along with the rest of crew for fun times all year round. So if you don't mind 5-year-olds, & the pulling of pigtails, let the cuteness begin!





	1. New Year's Day

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.

The swing set was cold. To be honest, Maka should have expected the chilled temperature of the rubber seat, but she did not. Instead, her teeth chattered, and she moved her butt around in the seat to keep warm. The yellow moon hung in the sky, oblivious to the happenings around Death City. The entire city was readying itself for New Year's Day, as it was less than thirty minutes away. The clock ticked on, a silent countdown in almost every household, while Maka sat on the swing set, cold and alone.

At least, until she had a visitor.

"Pigtails?" his voice was soft, but Maka recognized it immediately.

"Soul." Maka heard sand shift as he came to the swing beside her, facing the opposite way as her. Their legs barely touched the ground, but both Soul and Maka had had plenty of time at recess to practice jumping onto the swing set before.

"Why so gloomy?" he asked, and Maka wasn't sure she wanted to give an answer. Soul Evans was a meanie and a teaser. He never hesitated to pull her pigtails during class, and didn't care when Ms. Mjolnir scolded him. Soul Evans was a menace, and Maka did not like him one bit.

"Why are you even here, Soul?"

He hesitated, eyes clouding before being hidden by his snow white bangs. "No reason. Just walking around."

"All alone at night? What about your family?"

"My family?" he seemed confused at the mention of his parents and brother.

"Yeah, aren't you spending New Year's with them?"

Soul shook his head, "Nope. Wes is playing a concert tonight. Mom and Dad thought it was important to watch him, seeing as he is the youngest performer to play at the hall in a decade." Maka was surprised that Soul even knew what a decade was. He wasn't really the kind of guy that would read frequently enough to have that vocabulary.

"Wow, Wes is pretty cool, huh?" Soul was quiet, leaving Maka to wonder what she said wrong. "Soul?"

"I guess you want to go see Wes now too, huh?" he asked, head down. Maka blinked twice, confused.

"Why would I want to see Wes?"

"But you just said he was cool!"

"Sure, but I don't want to hear him play the- the violin." It was hard to remember the string instrument, as she rarely heard it. The word escaped her sometimes, but she had managed to get it back on track. "I'm waiting for someone."

"Waiting? For who?"

"My papa," she said proudly, "Mama said he'll meet me here for the fireworks."

"Oh. That's good." There was something in his voice that made the curious side of Maka perk up like a puppy. He sounded so…lonely. Maybe if she…

"You can come with me and Papa. I don't mind. I mean, if you want," she said with a smile. At his incredulous face, she added, "but you can't be mean to me."

He hesitated, red eyes watching her carefully, before nodding. "Deal." Maka smiled and turned away from him, scanning the park with her eyes. She was looking for someone, and he wasn't there yet. Maka sighed before Soul decided to ask a question. "We're waiting for your dad, right, Pigtails?" Maka gave him a look of annoyance at the nickname but he was correct. She was waiting. The only problem was that he hadn't shown up yet. "When is he supposed to be here?"

She checked her watch, "10:00."

Soul blanched. "Maka, that was almost 2 hours ago." Maka winced at his voice. Having her fears and doubts realized by one of her troublesome classmates was not exactly ideal. "Are you sure he's coming?"

Maka nodded vehemently. "Papa said he would come so he'll come."

"But what if he doesn't?" Maka was silent. Her unspoken fear was not spoken, out in the open for the entire world to see. And she hated it.

"He'll come," she repeated stubbornly. Soul didn't say anything to this. Instead, he sat there and watched her with his dark eyes. Maka had always thought his eyes were a pretty colour. "He has to."

They didn't say anything for a while, and it made Maka more than a little bit unsettled. She rarely didn't have anything to say. "We should really swing, Pigtails."

The sound of Soul's voice made Maka jump. "Huh?"

"Swing." The black seat began to rock back and forth, and soon Soul was high above her, a streak of white and black. "Come on, Pigtails, swing. You might as well while you're on it."

"Mmm, I don't know." Maka watched Soul with her eyes. "What if I miss Papa?"

"You won't," he grinned impishly, "So swing, unless you're too scared."

Maka bristled instantly. "I am not scared."

"Then go on and swing."

With a determined look in his direction, Maka held onto the handles and rocked back and forth for momentum. She was quickly gaining height, the sand far from her feet. As she swung, she couldn't stop the smile that threatened her lips. The higher she went, the more air rushed into her face like a fan, brushing her bangs back. There was a snort of laughter that caught her attention, and she quickly realized that it was Soul. Since he was swinging the opposite way, he caught a look at her face every time he swung backwards. "Told you I can do it."

"Okay," Soul smirked, "but I'm still higher than you."

"Nu-uh!" Maka quickly put more effort into each swing, driving the swing higher and higher. She refused to let Soul win. Especially since he had beat her at hop-scotch that one time. Black Star had just laughed at her and given Soul a high five, but he wouldn't do that now if he knew how much she was beating Soul at the swings.

All of a sudden, there was a great bang, and it startled Maka enough to make the girl jump right out of her seat and fall into the sand below. She let out a sharp cry as she fell, and Soul leapt off his seat as fast as he could to make sure she was alright. Maka hit the sand with a thmp, and groaned as she tried to right herself. Soul grabbed her hand and put his arm around her shoulder to keep her upright. "Maka, are you OK?"

"Yeah, it just  _hurts_." She was fighting back tears, she knew. After all, there was no way she was going to cry in front of Soul Evans. No way ever!

"Oh Kami-sama, I'm sorry."

"I'll be OK, Soul, don't-. Did you just call me Maka?" Soul's eyes widened and his grip on her hand loosened considerably. He hadn't realized it at all, it seemed, but Maka just smiled, not minding at all. "I'd like it better than Pigtails. It's a lot nicer."

"Oh, okay." Soul seemed to be in a very awkward position now, and opened his mouth to say something else; however another large bang was heard that made both children jump. They looked up into the sky and saw huge fireworks, each different colours. They made Maka's eyes widen, and took her breath away. She had never seen something so beautiful before.

"Wow," she breathed, "It's so pretty." The array of sparks that filled the night sky were definitely appealing to the eyes. Maka had never seen fireworks before (or at least, none that she could remember) but the brightly lit sky made a wonderful first impression.

"It must be midnight now," said Soul. They both looked down at her watch, and sure enough, it showed 12:00 AM on it. "Happy New Year, Pigtails."

Maka sighed, as he had reverted back into his habit of using her nickname. "Happy New Year, Soul," she said, smiling anyway.

"Maka!" This new voice startled them and they turned to see Maka's mother making her way through the playground towards them, eyes for only her daughter.

"Mama?" Soul and Maka scrambled to her feet as Mrs. Albarn neared them.

"Oh, Maka, I was so worried," she said, kneeling and taking her daughter into her arms. Soul backed up, obviously not wanted to get caught in between them. Maka barely noticed, as her mother's back was all she could see. "Your father never called me back, and I realized that he must have been caught in the midnight shift. Baby, I'm so sorry you were here alone."

"I wasn't here alone. Soul was with me."

"Soul?" Mrs. Albarn moved back so she could see her daughter's face, and frowned, "Who's that, honey?"

"Don't you remember, Mama? Soul Evans? From my JK class."

"That Soul Evans? The one that Ms. Mjolnir talked about at your parent-teacher interview?" Her mother's brows furrowed. "What would he be doing here all alone?"

"He said that Wes was playing in a concert and that his mother and father were watching. He didn't seem to want to go," she mused, smiling slightly, "and stayed with me while I waited for Papa."

"That sounds very nice of him, dear," she said gently, "But he isn't here."

"What? Of course he is." Maka protested, turning quickly, "He's right here." But the problem was that he wasn't right there at all. He wasn't even there to begin with. "But he was right here!"

Her mother sighed, "I'm sure he was, sweetie, but he isn't here anymore. I don't think Soul would be out at such a young age."

"His Mama must have let him out," Maka insisted. Where had he gone?

"Maka, Mrs. Evans is not so poor a parent that she would let her 5-year-old son wander the streets of Death City alone."

"But you-" Maka cut off quickly, knowing that what she was about to say would earn her a spanking. But her mother seemed to know what she was going to say anyway.

"But I what? I  _let_ you wander around Death City alone?" Maka shook her head quickly, and Mrs. Albarn sighed. "Honey, you know that it was a mistake. Your father- he was working, you know that. Either way, Soul will be on his way home now if he was even here at all."

"But-"

"No buts, Maka, come on. We're going home." Mrs. Albarn rose to her feet and took Maka's hand in her own. Maka nodded sadly, and walked with her mother out of the park and into the streets, eyes scanning for any signs of her albino classmate. "Ready?"

"Yes, Mama," she said, smiling up at her mother. However, before she left, Maka allowed herself one glance back at the park and gave a slight smile at what she saw. "Let's go."

Mrs. Albarn glanced at the park too and left with a confused look on her face, not at all seeing the shock of white hair that peeked out from behind the slide.


	2. Valentine's Day

"Hurry up, Papa, we're going to be late!"

"Coming, honey." Spirit Albarn rushed down the stairs, his tie loose and hanging around his neck without much care. Maka giggled a bit as her father scrambled for his shoes and what not. "I'll be right there." The girl rolled her eyes and zipped up her jacket. February was slightly chilly in the mornings, something that her parents often talked about. "Alright, I'm ready," he said, turning sharply into the hall with one shoe on.

"Um, Papa?"

"Yes, angel?" the girl pointed down to Spirit's feet before laughing at him when he realized the loss of his left shoe. He let out a cry of surprise and flew into a whirlwind of desperation in an attempt to find his shoe.

"Looking for something?" Maka and Spirit turned to face Kami Albarn, her ash blonde hair tied in a low ponytail.

"Mommy!" cried Maka, running forward to give her mother a hug. "You're awake."

"Only because your father's fits are like my alarm clock," Kami said, hugging her daughter close. "And you look lovely today, dear."

"Thank you," she said with a bright smile, "Papa did it for me."

"Did he?" Kami raised an eyebrow at Spirit, who gave her a sly smile, "Well, he did very well on it. The ribbons were a nice touch," she added, making Maka's smile widen.

"Thank you, honey, but you didn't need to say that to get the roses that are on the coffee table."

"Roses?" Kami smirked. "What exactly are you trying to accomplish, Spirit?"

He winked. "I'm just trying to show my love, dear. It is Valentine's Day after all."

"That it is." She stretched out her hand, producing a dark black shoe, "And this doesn't happen to be yours, does it?"

"That's Papa's," cried Maka gleefully. "Mama, you're amazing!"

"Thank you, honey." Kami kissed the top of Maka's forehead and pushed her towards the door. "Now, go to school. I'm sure Ms.Mjolnir will want a good Valentine's Day."

The girl nodded and pulled away from her mother, making her way to the door, "Bye, Mama."

"Bye, honey," Spirit earned himself a peck on the cheek before walking out the front door, his daughter's small hand in his.

:SOUL:EATER:

"Come on, Soul, write something."

"No," Soul Evans crossed his arms in defiance, "It's not cool. I don't want to." Marie Mjolnir sighed in frustration. She had been trying to get the boy to make a few Valentines for his classmates but he was very much against it.

The assignment had been so simple. He just had to make a card for everyone in the class. With the template Marie had given them all, it would have been easy. But leave it to the notorious Soul Evans to make it complicated. "You can't even try?"

"Can't even try," said Soul, eyes hidden beneath white locks. "It's totally not cool."

"Valentine's Day isn't about being cool, Soul, it's about love."

"Love?"

Marie nodded emphatically. Perhaps he  _was_  understanding. "Yes, love. Do you know what it is?"

"Just what Mom and Dad have told me." She gestured for him to continue and he did. "Love is a feeling we feel in here." Soul placed a hand over his chest. "It's for someone really important."

"So you  _do_  understand!" Marie said cheerily, clasping her hands together. Soul gave her a blank look and continued doodling on his paper. "Don't you have someone you care about?" He frowned. "Your parents, maybe? A girl in class?"

What came next seemed almost cued, because seconds later a small fight broke out between Ox Ford and Kim Dhiel. She couldn't hear what Black Star whispered to Soul, but she did note the way he smacked at Black Star's hands when the boy sought to pat his friend's head.

By the time she returned to Soul, he and Black Star were in a highly animated conversation about Valentine's Day, and they were not in her favour. "It's not at all," Black Star was saying, "cool. It's weird and girly."

"Girly!" cried Marie, "What's so girly about Valentine's Day?"

"Oh, Ms. Mjolnir-" started Soul, but Black Star cut in.

"It's all about pink things with hearts and stuff," Black Star wrinkled his nose, "It's not for guys like us."

"What? But Ox is doing it."

"Ox is a goody two shoes," retorted Black Star, glancing over at the boy in question, before his eyes returned to his blonde teacher. "Like Pigtails."

"Hey!" The three turned to see Maka glaring over at them. "I heard that, Black Star."

"Really? Well, I wanted you to hear," he said, enjoying the way her cheeks puffed up in anger. Marie noticed this and set to scolding immediately. However, it was rather half-hearted as Soul began to talk to Maka from across the room. It wasn't half as harsh as it normally was, which brightened Marie, but his next comment steered her attention away from Black Star, forcing her (in her opinion) to intervene.

"Soul, don't be mean to your classmates," she scolded. "It's not nice."

"I'm not trying to be nice, Ms. Mjolnir, just telling her the truth."

"Truth? Soul, you can't crush a girl's dream like that."

"It's OK, Ms. Mjolnir," said Maka, her green eyes fierce. "I'm not sad and my dreams aren't crushed. Soul's just lonely."

"Lonely!" gasped Soul, "Nu-uh!"

"Yeah, you are," snapped Maka, arms accost her chest. "You wouldn't be teasing me if you were doing the work."

"Wha-" Soul's eyes widened. "Valentine's cards are lame, Pigtails."

"Lame?" Maka turned her head defiantly, showing that she would no longer pay mind to what Soul had to say. "Whatever, Soul. You don't get Valentine's day, anyway. You're too…too…too  _uncool_ to get it _._ "

Soul gaped at this accusation while his best friend cackled uncontrollably at his side. Marie merely knelt onto one knee to bring herself level with Soul.

"Soul, honey, are you OK?"

"I'm fine," he said, still staring at the back of Maka's head.

"Knowing you, you won't be," Marie sighed long and hard, putting a thin hand atop his head. "Tell you what; you don't have to make everyone a card. However, you must make at least one. That is all I ask."

Soul blinked twice. "That's it?"

"That," Marie nodded, "and an apology."

"How come? I didn't do anything to you!"

"I meant you have to apologize to Maka." Soul averted his eyes. "Today is a day for showing love. Understand?" he nodded his head slowly before raising his gaze.

"Ok, I'll do it."

"Good boy," Marie cooed, ruffling Soul's hair affectionately. "Now get to it. I need to give you something for your Art mark, don't I?" Soul gave a slight smile, indicating his agreement and Marie walked back to her seat feeling accomplished. "Now, if only Black Star would do the same…"

:SOUL:EATER:

"Pigtails?" The girl started forward, completely ignoring the boy that had managed to sidle up beside her. Tsubaki frowned at her friend but didn't say anything. "Pigtails, you in there?"

"Um, Soul? Perhaps you should leave her alone for a few minutes. I don't think now is a good time."

"Don't worry, Tsubaki, I've got this." The look on her face showed her doubt, but she made no move to leave. "Pigtails, can you talk to me? Please, Maka?"

"What, Soul?" She glared at him. "Here to make fun of me again?"

"No, not really." He rubbed the back of his neck with a free hand. "I just, uh…"

"Yes?"

Soul growled at himself, before slapping his forehead, making Maka flinch. "Never mind."

He stalked away angrily, leaving Maka in a confused stupor behind him. "Did I say something?" she asked once she recovered.

Tsubaki shrugged. "I don't think so, but-"

"HEY, TSUBAKI!" Both girls looked up to see Black Star, sitting on a branch that Ms. Mjolnir was desperately trying to get him down from.

"Black Star, what are you doing?"

"I wanted to give you this." All of a sudden there was a huge paper heart that drifted down from the sky. Tsubaki caught it, surprised while Black Star just laughed.

"It's for me?" she called out, marvelling the heart. It had her name in it; very roughly drawn but what could one expect from a 6-year-old?

"Yeah. I mean, I made it, so it had to be given to a worthy enough girl." He let out another loud laugh, that made Maka grimace but her friend stood shell shocked at her side, staring at the Valentine.

"Oh… thank you very much, Black Star," she said quietly, so soft that Maka barely heard it herself, however, Black Star smiled down at her.

"No problem. A God's gotta do what a God's gotta do."

"Black Star, I  _really_  need you to get down from there," called Ms. Mjolnir, still attempting to coax the boy down. "It's not safe up there."

"Tsubaki?" asked Maka carefully, confused when her friend clutched the heart to her chest with a delicate tug and stared at her feet with misty eyes. "Tsubaki, are you okay?"

"Hm?" She looked up absently. "Oh, yes, Maka, I'm fine."

"Okay…" Maka's brow furrowed. "If you say so." She glanced upwards and noticed the clock on the far side of the schoolyard. "The bell's going to ring soon, so we should wait by the door." Tsubaki nodded silently, following Maka up to the large doors that led into the school.

Something strange had happened to Tsubaki when Black Star gave her the Valentine. Did Valentines usually make you stare at your feet and daydream? Maka certainly didn't want a Valentine if that meant not paying attention. Perhaps she should have told Soul that when he insisted that she would never get a Valentine's card from someone…

The bell rang and the children filed inside, talking about hop-scotch or who had swung higher. Maka went straight t her back to grab her water bottle when she realized there was something blocking her way. As other students made their way into the classroom, Maka opened her bag wide to find a small, white rimmed card. Curious, she read through the card and smiled at the words within.

_Happy Valentine's Day, Maka._

It wasn't signed at all, but Maka had a feeling who had given it to her. Hence, she made it her first priority to thank him for the card.

"Hey, Soul?" he grunted, "thanks for the card."

He glanced at her sharply. "What card?"

"The Valentine's Day one," she said, still smiling, "You gave it to me."

"I didn't give you anything," he said harshly, "Didn't I already say that you wouldn't get a card?"

She frowned, "But I do have a card," she insisted, holding it up to his face.

He quickly turned away, mumbling, "I'm busy, Pigtails, go away."

For a second, she thought he was telling the truth, but then she remembered the little symbol in the corner.

A music note. So small that no one in their right minds would even consider it to be a music note, but Maka knew that that was what it was.

"Thanks again, Soul," she said, walking away with a smile. Maybe Soul didn't like  _saying_  he made the card. Maybe you didn't normally sign Valentine's cards.

It was this last thought that brought Maka to her teacher, who simply took the card, gave it a quick once over, and laughed before jotting something down."It's a very nice card, Maka."

"See, Ms. Mjolnir? I got a Valentine. I knew Soul was wrong."

Ms. Mjolnir smiled softly and glanced over at Soul, who appeared to be working hard, but was really hiding the red marker marks and a red face. Yes, he had been wrong. And he knew just how to make it up to her.

_Good job, Soul._


	3. St. Patrick's Day

"I wanna go home," groaned Soul, head down on his desk.

"We should just escape," whispered Black Star, glancing over at the window. "That way we don't have to listen to all this stuff."

Soul took a quick glance at the window and stared out at the barren trees. March was a rather bitter month, as winter was dying down. The chill was still there, but the rain offset the frigid atmosphere.

"Tsubaki, can you come over here for a second?" Soul watched as his classmate crossed the room and walked over to their teacher, Ms Mjolnir. The class was noisy from the lack of authority being shown at the moment, so Soul couldn't hear the conversation, however, he did notice when Maka's name came across his teacher's lips. He sat up now, intrigued.

Maka hadn't been there all day. According to Ms. Mjolnir, her father had called her home sick. She hadn't looked too well when they had last met...

He saw Tusbaki shake her head quickly and ask a question. His teacher glanced at the clock before answering and Tsubaki's hand went to her mouth. Ms. Mjolnir patted her head gently, a sad smile on her lips.

It looked like something bad had happened. To Maka maybe? Maybe she was really sick...

Tsubaki walked back to her seat, clearly upset with something their teacher had said. "'Star, check it out." Black Star glanced up and watched Tsubaki as well.

"What happened to her? Why does she look so sad?"

Soul shrugged and was about to ask the girl what had happened when their teacher called the class to order. His question would have to wait, he realized, and Soul knew very well how to wait. In fact, he spent much of class ignoring the problem, but when the bell for recess rang, he was one of the first ones out the door and waiting for Tsubaki with Black Star on his heels.

However, it turned out that Soul wasn't the only curious person. When he tried to approach Tsubaki, he was immediately swarmed by other people, and he found himself trying to fight his way through to get to her. It was harder than he thought, as they were all pretty much the same size, but he got through without many injuries. Fortunately for her (or unfortunately; Soul couldn't be sure) Black Star had taken a liking to her so he made her comfort his priority.

"Listen up! You guys better stop bugging Tsubaki. It's not cool and it's bothering her so you better leave her alone or me and Soul are gonna-"

"Hold on there, Black Star," started Soul, but it was not necessary. The group groaned, fearing another 'God' rant and Black Star humphed triumphantly and patted Tsubaki's head.

"How'd you like that?"

She gave a timid smile and bowed slightly. "Thank you very much, Black Star. You really helped me out."

"'Course I did," he said. "Had to do something," He looked at the remaining group, eyebrows raised. "What are you guys still doing here?"

"We want to know what happened to Maka too, Black Star," said Jacqueline O. Lantern Dupre. "She's our friend."

Kim nodded. "Why are you here, Black Star? I thought you didn't like Maka?"

"I don't, but Soul do-"

"No, I don't!" cut in Soul quickly

"Sure you do!"

"No, I don't."

"You do."

"Don't."

"Do."

"Don't."

"Do."

"Enough!" Ox Ford adjusted his round glasses, "We are all here to figure out what happened to Maka. We all knew her and were friends with her. Except you, Soul. Black Star is here for Tsubaki, but you?"

"I stick with Black Star," he said, kicking some dirt beneath his feet, "and I'm really curious. Pigtails never misses school."

Kilik Rung tapped his foot impatiently. "Well, let's hurry up then. Recess doesn't last forever." Harvar D'Eclair nodded his agreement.

Tsubaki twisted her hands together and looked up nervously. "It's great that you guys are kind of worried about Maka," sge began, her voice was incredibly soft, "but Ms. Mjolnir doesn't want me to tell you. I'll only t-tell if you keep it a secret."

They exchanged looks before Soul spoke up. "We'll keep it a secret, Tsubaki."

"Well... to be honest...Maka's gone missing."

"She ran away?" cried Black Star, only to receive a sharp smack in the head.

"Shut up, idiot," hissed Soul. "This is supposed to be a secret, not an announcement on the PA."

"I never said she ran away..." said Tsubaki. "I mean, it does sort of look like that but-"

"So she did run away?" asked Jacqueline timidly and Soul felt a chill go down his spine. Why  _would_  she run away? It made no sense. Where would she even go?

"I don't know," said Tsubaki, "but I'm really worried about her."

"Don't worry, Tsubaki," said Black Star, throwing an arm around Kilik and Soul. "She'll be back before you know it, right, guys?"

"Right," said Kilik anxiously, while Soul just nodded. He wanted to be as sure as Black Star but he couldn't; something inside him wouldn't allow him that kind of relief.

"I hope so. I hope they find her really soon." Black Star nodded his agreement, while Soul just zoned out, not quite sure why this new possibility bothered him. He noticed a strange looking clover on the ground and picked it up, slipping it in his pockets and inevitably forgetting about it.

* * *

 

By the end of the day, Soul was assaulted with random rushes of adrenaline. He was filled with the urge to merely do something; anything to get his mind off the green-eyed girl. However, that just wouldn't do because that day was St. Patrick's Day, meaning Death City looked like a giant green forest. Everything reminded him of Maka.

Soul walked with his head down, and continued in this fashion until his brother pulled him over, his dark umbrella keeping them dry. The rain was heavy, the sky a dark gray that unnerved Soul. "Soul," Wes said slowly, "is everything alright?"

"Yeah, it's nothing."

"Doesn't look like nothing." He clicked his tongue. "Talk to me, Soul, what's eating at you?"

"It's nothing," he repeated stubbornly. "Forget about it."

"I can't. It's bothering you, Soul, and that's bad for your studies."

"It won't mess with my piano," he mumbled angrily, "and it's none of your business, Wes."

"Is it a girl?" he said cheekily. When he got a glare from Soul, he just laughed. "So, it is a girl. Aren't you too young for girls, Soul?"

"It's not like that," he said angrily, before lowering his voice and whispering, "She's missing."

Wes blinked twice before chuckling. "Yes, Soul, I'm  _sure_  she's missing."

"She is!"

"Alright, Soul, I'm sure mother won't mind if we're a little bit late."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you and I are going to go for a little walk and you can tell me about this 'missing girl'," Wes said, taking Soul across the street and walking down the wet sidewalk.

"Well, she is missing, Wes."

"Yes, yes, I'm sure." He paused and, deciding to humour his brother, asked, "First of all, who is the she?"

Soul hesitated a bit before saying her name. "...Maka..."

"OH!" Wes' eyes lit up at the prospect of recognition. "Is she the kid with the pigtails that you fought with on the first day of school?"

"Maybe," he admitted, "but it doesn't matter right now because she's missing."

"And you're sure about that?"

"Our teacher asked Tsubaki if she knew where Pigtails was and told her that she had left her home. The door was left unlocked too."

"Wow..." Wes scratched his head. "It does _sound_ like she's lost. Are you absolutely positive? I mean, even if she did go missing, she could have easily been found already by her parents. It's sweet of you to be worried, Soul, but I don't think your friend is still out here." Soul was quiet for a moment, mild wheeling. There was always the possibility that she wasn't lost anymore. But he couldn't be one hundred percent sure. And it was that small bit of doubt that frightened Soul more than anything. She was just a little girl. And it was raining heavily – he wouldn't be surprised if it started to thunder – so she would catch a cold quickly. "And even if her parents didn't find her yet, maybe she's playing – oh, I don't know – hide-and-seek."

"Why would she play-" Soul stopped for a moment. "That's it!"

"Soul?"

"I think I know how to find her, Wes."

"Do you really?" Wes allowed Soul to drag him forward and around to a small park that was unoccupied at the moment. Everything was wet from the rainfall; small clumps of snow lay on the far side of the park, melting rapidly. "And what is your idea?"

"Well, if she is hiding, or if she's lost, she'll respond to this." Soul pulled his umbrella out of his bag, walked to the edge of the park and took a quick breath. He rather enjoyed hide-and-seek and he had played it with Maka multiple times. On many occasions, when the seeker gave up, they would make a sound to signal the end of the game; 2 claps, a long whistle, and another 2 claps. This code was used in almost every game, as Maka's hiding places were many and well hidden.

Soul clapped twice, whistled, and clapped twice again. He waited, expecting the typical 3 clap, 1 whistle response to the signal, but it didn't come. The park stayed silent, sound the rushing sound of rain hitting the metal slide and rush as it fell from the sky. He signalled again, clapping and whistling louder. Maybe the rain was too loud for her to hear him.

Soul strained his ears for any sound but none came.

Yet.

It came to Soul's attention that if Maka wasn't in sight, she'd be hiding by trees or bushes, so he moved away from his brother signalling once more. He walked the rim of the park, peeking around bushes for any signs of his classmate.

"Um, Soul, why are we at a park?"

"Because," he called back, "she really has a thing for parks. It's either here or the library at school."

Wes wrinkled his nose. "What's a kindergarten student doing in a library?" he muttered under his breath, leaving Soul to his own devices.

The boy noticed a slight green ribbon at the edge of a nearby bush, and suddenly, a light triple clap could be heard. Soul peered around the bush to see Maka, muddied and soiled on her knees.

"Maka," he breathed, pushing thorough the crevices to get to her. Maka turned her head, and he watched her eyes widen fractionally.

"Soul, was that your call?" he nodded, crouching down to her level, he balanced the umbrella on his shoulder and making sure he was close enough so it covered both of them. "I had a feeling. Your whistle is a little different than the others."

He frowned. "Thanks, I guess, but what are you doing here?"

Maka looked around her. "I'm looking for something."

"Looking? For what?" She fidgeted. "You can tell me, Pigtails, I won't laugh."

She watched him warily before sighing. "I'm looking for a four leaf clover."

"A what?" The strange clover from the school yard flashed in his mind.

"A four leaf clover," said Maka. "Mommy and Daddy were telling me how they bring good luck."

"You need luck?"

"Maybe."

"Couldn't you, I don't know, wish upon a star or something?"

Maka giggled and wiped her muddy hands on her green hands on her dress. It was already dirty, so it didn't make much of a difference with the added dirt. "No, that's wishing. That's different from luck, Soul."

"Is it?" He scratched his head. "I didn't know that."

"Okay, Soul," she said, "but thank you for trying anyways. Luck is to help make good things happen. Because today is St Patrick's Day, clovers are supposed to be extra lucky on today."

"Really? But why do you need luck?" She stayed silent. "Seriously? You're not going to tell me?" When she didn't respond, he tried to coax the words from her another way. "Meanie. You're always hiding things from me."

"Well, I can't always tell you! It's not like you..." she trailed off.

"People worry when you go missing, you know? Like Tsubaki and Ms. Mjolnir and your parents-"

"My parents won't worry," she said, staring downwards and picking through the clover patch at her feet.

"Every parent worries when their child goes missing. Remember you mom on New Year's Day? She was super worried."

"I guess, but my mama...she's fighting with my papa."

"Fighting?"

"Yeah. I was with my papa...Papa said he would be right back and then he left. I followed him and he was with this really pretty lady, but it wasn't Mama. I told my mama about it and she and Papa got into a really big fight..." she shivered. "They're really scary when they fight. While they were fighting, Mama said something about having bad luck to marry my papa, so I thought that maybe if she had the lucky clover, she'd be happier and she'd like Papa again." At this, her eyes began to water, and amongst the wetness already on her face, these tears stood out. "And I...I love Mama and Papa, Soul. I d-don't like it when they f-fight."

Sirens started going off in Soul's head. How did you make a girl stop crying? There was a way, right? As far as he knew, there wasn't a song that could calm her down. Tentatively, Soul moved closer to Maka and put a hand on her back, rubbing in wide circles. "Don't cry, Maka, please don't cry." She wiped tears away harshly, but tried to smile at Soul.

"I'll try." He continued to rub her back, their shoulder's bumping occasionally. After a while, she stopped crying, and Wes made himself known. She said hello, her eyes dark and puffy, and wanted to know what he was doing there. Wes told her that they were indeed worried and that they had come to take her home. "But I can't go home yet," she protested, "Not yet."

"Maka, it's raining," said Wes, crouching down like his little brother. "We've got to get you home. Your parents were really worried. I think they were the ones that called your teacher to ask about you."

"They asked about me?"

"Of course," said Wes, patting her head. "Now why don't we take you home, and you can talk to Soul about...well, you can talk to Soul and me if you'd like."

Maka nodded, cast a longing look at the clover patch and walked out of the bushes with Wes.

"Soul, hurry up!"

"Give me a second."

"Soul, I'm serious, we have to hurry and get your friend home."

"Stop nagging me, Wes, I'm coming." He heard his brother growl but Maka laughed, so that was good enough for him. He slipped his hands in his pockets and pulled the smooth item out.

The clover.

"Soul!"

"Right here," said Soul, stepping out from the hedges as well and putting the clover back into his pocket. "I'm ready."

* * *

 

St Patrick's Day ended with a bang. The rain had stopped near the end, and green fireworks were sent up into the air, created lavish shamrock shaped explosions. Maka made it back to her family relatively safe. The only downside, in Soul's opinion, was that he was soaked. The upside was that his homework was soaked too, so he didn't do the colouring sheet assigned by his teacher. Maka was rather happy that, by the time she got home, her parents had seemed to settle their dispute and they were no longer fighting anymore. All hostility had been removed, save Spirit's newfound hostility towards Soul.

Because, regardless of his age, nothing could threaten Spirit more than a boy bringing his daughter home **.**


	4. Easter

"I don't get it."

Maka sighed, frustrated. "You don't have to  _get_  it, Black Star," huffed Maka, "No one asked you to butt in."

"Yeah, but if you're gonna tell a story, then you might as well tell a story with me in it. I mean, if this story is as awesome as you say it is, then I should be a part of it."

"This happened a really long time ago, Black Star, so there's no way you could be a part of the story. When Jesus rose from the dead, it was a miracle. And besides, he was God's son. There's no way that-"

" _God_  had a  _son_?"

"That's what it says in the story..." said Maka, her eyebrows furrowing, "But that's not the point. The point is-"

"The point is that God has a mini-God son that I can beat! And when I beat him, I will beat God once and for all!"

"I'm pretty sure you'd have to beat God, and not his son if you actually wanted to  _beat_  God," said Maka slowly, "but we don't even know if the story is real. Besides that, I don't know if Lord Death has a son. We've only seen him at the entrance ceremony and we haven't seen his son yet, if he ever had one."

"Well, if he had a son, I wonder what he'd look like," said Black Star, choosing a new crayon for his drawing. "Lord Death's never shown us his face before."

"I think he doesn't want us to see his face," said Maka, "That's why he wants to wear a mask."

"Um, Maka?" Tsubaki tugged on her friend's sleeve shyly, "About the Easter eggs-"

"Right," she said, concentrating hard to remember where she had left on in her mini-speech about Easter. "Eggs mean new life because they have baby chicks and stuff. It used to show, sometimes, Jesus' empty tomb because he rose from the dead. So the Easter egg is a way to remember the empty tomb and how he became alive again."

"Wow," breathed Tsubaki, "That's really-"

"Lame," Black Star cut it, "It's really lame."

"Like I said before," said Maka, glaring sharpened Crayolas at the boy, "you don't have to  _get_  it, Black Star, you just-. Ugh, you're just like Soul," said Maka.

"Who's just like me?"

"Soul?" The three of them turned to see Soul walking through the door, handing Ms. Mjolnir a small note. She took it was a cautious smile before continuing to chastise a young, blonde boy for getting glue all over his clothes. Soul went to the back, hung up his jacket, and slipped back to Black Star's side, pulling Maka's pigtail as he passed.

She let out a yelp at the pull and clutched at the piece of her hair tightly. "SOUL!"

He chuckled and hi-fived with Black Star, grabbing a crayon and starting on his own drawing. "Sorry."

"Sorry?" she frowned, "You did it on purpose."

"No, I didn't!"

"Yeah, you did!" she said, "And I'm going to tell on you!"

"Wait, Pigtails-!"

"MS. MJOLNIR!" The young teacher glanced over and frowned at the sight before her. Tsubaki and Black Star were at the same table, alone, and Maka and Soul seemed to have completely disappeared.  _Odd_ , she thought,  _I was sure they were right there_. She shook the thought from her head and instead started to sort the loose papers on her desk that had managed to get into a rather haphazard state.

Meanwhile, Tsubaki and Black Star were peering underneath the table, where Soul had dragged the young girl. "Hush up," he snapped, "You can't tell Ms. Mjolnir!"

"Why not?" she hissed back, quickly re-doing a loose pigtail. "You deserve to be scolded."

"Wha- No I don't! Besides, if I get in trouble with Ms. Mjolnir again, she told me that I'd get the next 5 sheets in the handwriting book we got at the beginning of the year."

"Then that's your fault," she sniffed, getting ready to crawl back out from under the table.

"Come on, Pigtails, do something nice for once. Do me a favour, and I'll do you a favour. I promise."

She raised an eyebrow, thinking carefully about his proposal. "You promise?"

"Yes."

Tsubaki tapped Maka's shoulder carefully. "Hurry up, Maka, Ms. Mjolnir said she's going to announce something."

Maka nodded to Soul before nodding hurriedly. "Yeah, okay. It's a deal." He grinned that sharp-toothed grin of his, making her giggle slightly. They crawled out from beneath the table and took a seat beside their respective friend just as Ms. Mjolnir turned to make an announcement.

"Alright kids, you're going to have an Easter egg hunt." A variety of questions being simultaneously shouted out caused Ms. Mjolnir to shout to call her class to order. "Children, listen up. You're all going to be sent outside to the yard to search for Easter eggs. Our grade 4s have been very kind in putting them out, so I expect all of you to search hard for these eggs, understand?"

"Why should we look for eggs?" asked Black Star rather loudly, "It's not like we're getting anything from them."

"As I was saying," she said, giving Black Star a sharp look that he promptly ignored, "you will each have the task of finding 5 Easter eggs. They're empty inside and the Grade 4s have been sure to put a snack in them that you can keep."

"Free candy? Never mind, this is a genius idea!" cheered Black Star, making many of his classmates laugh.

"Yes, yes, Black Star, it's all a very good idea," said Ms. Mjolnir with a smirk on her face. "So I'd all of you to head outside right now. And don't come back before you have 3 eggs!" She added, but she needn't have bothered. Most of the class had tuned out and had started to head to the back to slip on their coats. Only Maka, Tsubaki, Ox and Harvar still sat in their seats, patiently waiting for the crowds to disperse. Maka grabbed a dark red crayon and finished shading in the top portion of her egg drawing before putting it down with a satisfied noise.

When the crowds appeared to have cleared, Maka and Tsubaki, as well as their other two classmates, grabbed their own coats and ran outside.

Their classmates were scattered everywhere. Many children peered through the iron gates that lined their yard and through bushes. Maka heard many cries of joy as children pull colourful eggs from small hiding places and she was determined to find her own.

Tsubaki and Maka set off at once to find the treasured eggs, searching for them high and low. Oddly enough, Tsubaki's eyes were sharp and she was able to find three eggs quite quickly. Maka did not have as much luck, and the girl slaved away, trying to find her third and final egg that would finally complete her mission. Most of the students had already returned to the classroom, having found their three eggs and Maka felt a pang of jealousy; especially when Ox was able to find his faster than her.

However, this jealousy only fuelled her determination to keep searching and search she did, until she spotted a small, polka-dotted egg that sat on a high up branch on the maple tree. She reached up, trying to grab it, but she couldn't reach it. She huffed, frustrated, and started in a half-hearted attempt to climb the tree.

"Maka, are you sure that's a safe thing to do? I mean, you're trying to climb a really tall tree."

"I'll be fine," she said, hissing when the bark slipped slightly, cutting into her hand.

"Come on, Maka, don't be like this. We can go find another egg. It doesn't have to be the one in the tree."

The little girl grit her teeth and continued to climb up. However, the likelihood of a little girl of Maka's strength to climb all the way up the tree was very low. And it was proven when she fell from a rather slight height.

"Pigtails, what are you trying to do?" Maka opened her eyes wide and looked up to see Soul and Black Star staring down at her.

"What do you want?" she said angrily, "Haven't you found your 3 eggs yet?"

"As if," laughed Soul, "Black Star kept shouting whenever he saw one and then all the other kids went to grab. He's only got one. I've got my three, but I promised Black Star I'd help out."

"Except you're not really helping me," huffed Black Star, "You're talking to her."

"Hush up, Black Star," he said, before turning back to Maka. "Don't you think it's about time you sat up?"

Maka pushed herself up off the ground, ignoring Soul's stretched out hand. "Like I said, what are you guys doing here?"

"We saw you fall and wanted to know why you fell."

She fidgeted. If she told them, would they go after the egg itself? "It's another egg, Soul," said Tsubaki shyly, trying to ignore the way Black Star was rambling off at her side. "She was trying to get it."

"ANOTHER EGG!" shouted Black Star, and Soul smacked his forehead at his friend's foolishness. A few of the kids in the playground turned around quickly and were soon racing across the yard to get to the egg.

"Black Star!" hissed Maka, "Why would you do that?"

"My bad?"

Soul was totally ready to leave without another word when the look on Maka's face stopped him. She really wanted this egg. Maybe it was just a girl thing, to care so much about the little things, but maybe Soul felt obligated to help her. Just a little.

"This is the favour," he said to her, before placing his hands on the long trunk and beginning to scale the tree.

Maka watched in awe as he climbed up it, his jeans catching on the rough bark occasionally. But he ignored it, continuing to climb until he sat on the thin branch that held the egg of her choice. With a determined puff, he reached over, grabbed it, and threw it down to her, laughing when she went into a scramble to catch it. A groan resounded through the children that had gathered at the tree's base for the egg and they slowly walked away, continuing to search.

"I've got all three, Tsubaki," she breathed, happily, "all 3. THANK YOU, SOUL!" She said, throwing her arms around him once he had clambered to the bottom.

He gasped and immediately pushed her away, red eyes wide. "Don't scare me like that," he said, eying her warily, "And don't take this the wrong way, Pigtails. I did this because I owe you, not because we're friends or whatever."

"Aw. Are you sure you can't just say that we're friends and that that is why you did it?"

"No."

"Oh, okay," she grinned, "Thanks anyway, Soul." The boy shrugged and pointed to the far end of the yard.

"I think I saw an egg over there, 'Star, let's go check it out before you get in trouble for not finding your 3."

Black Star nodded enthusiastically and patted Tsubaki's head. "Later, Tsubaki. Pigtails," he said, acknowledging her as an afterthought, before running off with Soul to the far end of the yard.

"We should head inside too, Maka," said Tsubaki with a shy smile, "It's still kind of cool out and Ms. Mjolnir told us to come back in once we're done."

"Yeah, okay," said Maka, placing the plastic eggs into her pocket. They walked over to the classroom door, and stepped inside, feeling relieved.

But Maka couldn't help but throw a glance back and smile at Black Star's loud shouts and Soul's tired smirk.


	5. Mother's Day

It was a rather breezy day for Soul, and as he walked through his hall with all its shut windows, the more he wished them open. He could hear the wind slapping at the windowpane and slipping through the cracks in his house. One would be a fool not to notice. However, it wasn't nearly as cold as it had been in February. Now, the sun shone as brightly as the moon, illuminating every dark crevice of Death City.

Soul tapped his mother's door gently, before pushing it open completely. It was empty. He knew his father was at his early meeting but his mother?

"She's in the shower, little brother," came a voice from behind him. Soul jumped and swivelled to face Wes, who just grinned triumphantly. "You can leave her card on her pillow. I'm sure she'll like it."

"She'll like yours more," he grumbled but did as his brother instructed.

Wes laughed. "I doubt it. She'll probably want us out of the house, little brother, more than anything."

"Why do you say that?"

"Simple; because she's going to be going to a Mother's Day banquet later today. We're both performing, by the way."

Soul's jaw dropped. "B-but-" he spluttered but his brother just waved it away.

"I tried to tell her that it was too short notice, but she wouldn't listen. We're to do a duet."

"A duet," he choked out.

"I don't know what she's thinking," said Wes, hands shoved into his pockets, "You're only 6 and I'm 10. We are not fit to play, yet we must. It'll be simple, Soul, alright?" Soul nodded mutely, "I'll choose the music. You and I... we'll practice all day, okay?" another nod. "good. Now go downstairs and ask the chef to make you some breakfast.

Soul complied, skipping steps and rushing to the kitchen. Once he was seated with a bowl of cereal in front of him, he began to wonder what songs his brother would choose. It had only been a month since he last played for an audience, and he hadn't played a single incorrect note. However, his mother made comments on his lack of dynamics...his phrasing. Wes had been left to assure his brother that he had truthfully done exceptionally well, but his mother's words cut deep. "Not as good as Wes," she had said to her friends casually, "Lots of work to be done."

He finished off his food, wondering briefly if his friends were having similar days before shaking his head. They would never truly have the same day as him.

And that was the hardest thing to understand.

* * *

 

"Mommy! Mommy!" called Maka, clambering on top of her once unconscious mother. "Happy Mother's Day, Mama!"

"Spirit!" groaned Kami, hugged Maka closer to her, which caused a giggled from the little girl, "It's Maka."

Maka laughed as her father tripped into the room, carrying a platter of food, "Good morning, my angels."

"Angels?" asked Kami, cracking a green eye open. "What's this about angels?"

"Nothing, dear," he said, pressing a kiss on her forehead. "Nothing at all."

She hummed and sat up, keeping Maka at her side. "And this is my breakfast?" she asked. Spirit nodded.

"I made it myself, darling, no need to worry."

"But you made it yourself..." she trailed off with a grin.

Spirit sighed before turning his attention to his daughter. "Maka, honey, do you want to come downstairs and eat breakfast?"

"What about Mommy?"

"Mommy is going to eat in her bed."

"But you said no one is allowed to eat upstairs."

"Um..."

"Sweetie," spoke up Kami, smiled sweetly at her daughter, "I'm going to be super careful. Besides, it's going to be just you and Daddy downstairs." Maka perked up. "Yep, just you and Daddy. So why don't you go and eat together, kay?"

"Okay," said Maka happily, and Spirit watched his daughter make a beeline for the kitchen at her mother's command. Maka, of course, did not care much at all. It was rare when she could eat breakfast with her father. Often, he had to be with Lord Death for long periods of time or he'd be out of the country for a Death City mission. Her mother, incidentally, had taken up a lot of paperwork from Lord Death to stay home and watch Maka.

Once inside the kitchen, she scrambled up the chair, where she sat waiting for her father to join her. It didn't take long before he was downstairs too, and soon the pair of them were making their way through scrambled eggs and toast.

"Daddy, what are we going to do today?" she asked, green eyes bright.

"Whatever your mother wants to do," he said, chuckling at her wide eyes.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"So we're going to the Shibusen library?" she asked, enjoying the surprise on her father's face.

"Why would you say that?"

"Because Mama loves Shibusen. She said she met you there and met a lot of great friends."

"Yes, we did meet a lot of great people," he said proudly. "Your teacher used to be a Shibusen student too."

"Really?"

"Absolutely. In fact, she's a Death Scythe."

"Death Sc-" Maka frowned, struggling with the word. "Scythe?"

Suddenly Spirit was leaning over the table, hugging his daughter. "Aw, you're so cute."

Maka giggled, hugging her father back. "So, Daddy, what's a Death Scythe?"

"Well, it's technically a very powerful weapon that Lord Death uses," said Spirit carefully, "but-"

"You're a Death Scythe too, right, Daddy?" she asked, green eyes wide and innocent.

"Yes…"

"How come?"

"How…" Spirit frowned. "What do you mean, angel?"

"I mean, why are you a weapon, Daddy? I thought weapons hurt people. You don't hurt people right?"

"Maka, I-"

"You always said hurting people was bad.." she trailed off before zoning back in, "So why are you a weapon?"

"Maka, angel, there are different types of weapons. Some weapons hurt good people and some protect good people. I'm a weapon that protects, so don't you worry," he said, smiling at her, "Daddy will make sure nothing hurts you and Mommy, okay?"

She nodded slowly, and soon enough the conversation was all but forgotten, at the back of their minds never to be unlocked as a memory again. Breakfast continued, and when Spirit did the dishes, Maka watched cartoons. Vaguely, she wondered what her friends were doing. Black Star's family was probably having problems waking the boy up, whereas Tsubaki was probably already awake and giving her mother the card they'd made in class. Ox and Kim were probably having no problems; the same went for Kilik and Harvar. However, more than anyone else, it was Soul she was worried about because his family seemed far stranger than all the others. She hoped he was having a good day, but she knew that getting her hopes up wouldn't help either of them in the long run.

* * *

 

It was stuffy in an extreme sort of way that made Soul's head hurt. The crowds were intensely thick, as many families crowded into Shibusen's large dancing room for the Mother's Day event. Soul tugged on his tie nervously. What if he forgot the notes and screwed up? They'd never let him live it down.

"Ready, little brother?" asked Wes with a grin, clapping a hand on his brother's back.

Soul shook his head hurriedly. "No way, Wes, I don't want to do this anymore."

"Mother would be disappointed, and I can't play without you," said Wes soothingly, "Besides, it'll be okay if you mess up."

Soul wanted to point out that Wes had played multiple times without Soul and that their mother would scold them for hours on end about what he could've done better, but he didn't.

"Alright Wes, Soul, go play now," said their mother, coming up behind the.

"Yes, mother," they replied in unison, before heading over to the instruments. Soul clambered up onto the seat, flipping open the hood to reveal gleaming keys. He gulped nervously while his brother picked up his violin. Slowly, the crowds seemed to pick up the fact that they would play, and soon Soul found a million eyes staring at him and his brother.

"Calm down, Soul," whispered Wes, bring the violin up to its playing position. "We're going to start now, alright?"

He nodded, fingers poised over the keys.

The initial music conductor introduced them, implying that they had had much time to practice. Soul resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and Wes threw him a sheepish grin. Suddenly, the lights dimmed, and Soul felt a burning spotlight on him and his brother. The glare of the piano made Soul shudder, but he still sat there, staring at his brother for a cue. At a slight nod of his head, the song began; a slow, sad song that was made even more melancholic by the violin. Soul spared a glance at his mother, who was whispering something to the woman beside her. He continued to play, focusing on his crescendos, staccatos, and every little tempo change had and Wes had perfected over the last 24 hours.

And by the end, he thought it sounded magnificent. The crowd clapped at the end – some women even cried- and he felt a rush of pride. But tat rush died quickly when his mother congratulated them.

And by them, he meant Wes.

Many audience members came up and congratulated the pair of them, but every time someone did, his mother would shoot them a dirty look that effectively scared them off.

He sighed, and jumped off the bench, leaving the party and his brother. Distantly, he could hear someone calling his name, but he assumed it was Wes and ignored it. He kept walking, ignoring the voice, until suddenly he felt someone jump on his back. He almost lost his balance, hands moving so he could hold the person up to prevent their fall.

"What the-" but he was cut off by a familiar laugh.

"Hi, Soul, how are you?"

"Pigtails!" he gasped, trying to look at her but failing. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to tell you congratulations," she said cheerily, getting off his back. "And why'd you ignore me? Did I make you angry again?"

"No, I'm not angry with you," he said, turning to look at her. She had a short, green dress on with her hair in her traditional style. "And I thought you were Wes."

"Ew," Maka wrinkled her nose, making Soul laugh. "Why would I want to be your brother? That's weird!"

"Thanks, I guess, but it's okay. You don't have to pretend. Wes' music is really great, huh?"

Maka shrugged. "I guess. Do  _you_  think his music is great?"

"Of course, don't you?" he asked, confused.

"Well, I don't know." She cast a glance inside the ballroom where Wes had taken up a conversation with the conductor. The small boy paled in height to the old man, but he seemed far more mature than his companion. Wes nodded patiently at something the conductor said, and put on a polite smile. He didn't seem to be enjoying the conversation that much, that she could tell. "I guess his song was okay, but I liked the piano part better."

"Really?" he asked, feeling more excited than usual.  
"Of course," she said, hand on her hips, "Why? I'm not lying, Soul!"

"I didn't say that," he said, looking away stubbornly; being around the preppy girl made his stomach turn weirdly. Perhaps he'd had a rough dinner?

"Well, you meant it!" she said, puffing her cheeks angrily. Soul smirked, and let his hand dart out to tug on her hair. She yelped, swatting him away as he backed up, laughing. "Why do you always do that?"

"Because I can," he said and laughed when she massaged her head with angry eyes.

"You are such a bully," she said, "I don't know why you hate me so much, but it's not nice at all!"

"I already said I don't hate you," he said, "The look on your face Is just too funny."

"Funny?" she gasped, and suddenly there was a long shadow that came over the pair of them.

"Who's funny?" cried the source of the shadow, and the pair looked up to see Spirit Albarn, arms crossed menacingly.

Soul was not amused. "Not you," he said and he watched a laughing woman walk up behind Spirit, her eyes alight.

"What's wrong, Spirit?" Maka raced to the woman's side and hugged her leg.

"Mama, Soul's being mean again."

"Hello again, Soul," Kami Albarn said with a smile. "Are you bullying my Maka?"

"Of course not," he replied, with a grin that revealed all on his face. "She started it."

" _I_ started it?" she exclaimed, her jaw dropping. Maka's mother patted the girl's head with a laugh before ruffling Soul's own white locks.

"You played well today," she said, green eyes twinkling, "It was beautiful."

"Thank you, ma'am," he said politely, seeing his mother walking towards him. Maybe this hadn't been the best idea. "Please excuse me-"

"No, no, Soul, you can stay awhile," she said, but Soul felt himself sadden. His mother had a habit of scaring off the people that liked his music.

"Um, excuse me?" the Albarns turned to see Soul's mother standing there her face set in a sort of painful smile. "Why are you talking to my son?"

"Ah, Mrs. Evans," said Maka's mother, smiling as she shook his mother's hand. "Great to see you again."

"Oh yes, you're both Maka's parents, aren't you? As I said before on the last day we met, I am truly sorry for my son's behaviour." She shot Soul a sour glance before continuing. "Is that why you were talking to Soul?"

"As I said before, it's not a problem. He's mischievous at his age and there was no harm done. But we weren't talking to Soul about that. We were talking about his playing. He-"

"No need to say it, Mrs. Albarn, I know what you're going to say."

"Do you now?' asked Kami skeptically, "And pray tell what was I going to say?"

"That Soul needs more work. To be honest, I agree with you. He neglects practice often and he hardly ever listens. But I suppose that's what Wes is for." She laughed like it was some big joke but the Albarns weren't laughing.

Especially Maka.

"You don't think Soul played good?" the little girl asked, coming out from behind her mother and staring up at Mrs. Evans. The woman bent down to her level with poise.

"It's 'well', not 'good', and no I-"

"Why now?"

"Because he never goes to pract-"

"Why?"

"Because he says they're borin-"

"Why?"

"He's laz-"

"Maybe he needs more fun," suggested Maka brightly, "How many times does he play piano"

"I-"

"Because Soul doesn't like things repetitive, I would know. He always complains when I try to jump on his back."

"Only because we almost fall down!" said Soul suddenly, before stifling the sound. The adults looked surprised at his outburst, save Kami who was looking rather pleased with herself.

"Well, my family and I must be going home now. Maka's got school tomorrow and we can't have her up too much past her bedtime. She bowed slightly before Spirit moved and picked up their daughter. Maka giggled, linking her fingers behind his neck. "Goodbye, Mrs. Evans. Your sons are very talented.  _Both_  of them," she added before guiding Spirit away.

Soul watched them leave and smiled when Maka's head popped over her father's shoulder and she waved like crazy. He waved back before his mother snatched his hand. "You are  _not_  to talk to that girl, understood?"

At Soul's blank stare, she tsked before letting go and saying, "Your brother played better. Keep trying," before stalking away.

He stared straight on, knowing that he should feel upset, but he didn't. His mother's voice rang strongly in his ears, but Maka's smile blotted it all out and he felt happy about his music for the first time in a long time.


	6. Father's Day

The words brought a smile to her face. "Say it again, Tsubaki."

"Father's Day is tomorrow?" she asked nervously, as Maka leapt up and clapped her hands.

"Yes, that's right! It's Father's Day. I get to celebrate my dad," she said, "He's a Death Scythe, you know?"

Tsubaki nodded, "Yes, Maka, I do, but-" she fidgeted, "I know you love your dad and all, but you are speaking a bit too loudly."

"Sorry, Tsubaki," said Maka, quieting instantly, "I'm sounding like Black Star, aren't I?" Tsubaki laughed her affirmation.

"What's wrong with sounding like me?"Black Star cried, offended.

Maka narrowed her eyes. "I wasn't talking to you, Black Star," she huffed, "Leave us alone!"

"Why? School's almost over in a couple of weeks anyway. I might not see you over the summer so isn't it best I bother you now as much a possible?"

"That's a terrible reason, Black Star, you live a block away from me."

"No, it's not. It's smart, right, Soul?"

Soul glanced up from his painting and frowned.

"Who's smart?"

"I am, of course," said Black Star, "I'm super smart."

"Of course you are," said Soul loyally, before returning to his painting.

After a series of unfortunate events, involving paint on pigtails and the semi-staining of clothes, Ms. Mjolnir had decided to allow them access into the classroom on Saturday, under her supervision. By some cruel stroke of fate, the stroke of fate that happened to be in effect most of the time, the four of them had found themselves painting together.

The four children that started the mess in the first place.

"Why do you stick up for him?" asked Tsubaki, peeking out from around her canvas. Maka painted silently at Tsubaki's side. She refused to let her curiosity get in the way of ignoring him. She wasn't about to let that grudge go.

"We're friends, of course," said Soul, "But-" he paused, before peering at Black Star's canvas, confused. "Black Star, why do you have your signature on the printing?"

"It is the painting," said Black Star proudly. "Sid said that I should give my father something that he'll always like and I thought nothing would be better than my name."

Maka sighed before continuing with her painting. It was a simple picture of her and her parents, their family home in the background. The words 'Happy Father's Day' were spread across the top. A small 'love Maka was on the left corner. She couldn't wait to show it to her father.

"You haven't coloured yet," said Soul, and Maka froze. She hadn't heard him come to stand beside her.

"Don't look at it," she said, "It's not ready." She splayed her hands inches from the canvas as if she could hide it from view.

Soul laughed at the attempt. "So now you talk to me? Why were you ignoring me so much?"

"Leave me alone, Soul," she said, continuing with her painting. Soul shrugged before returning to his own picture and starting up a conversation with Black Star about Power Rangers. When Ms. Mjolnir came over to check on them, Black Star had been lectured and Soul placed in a time out for laughing at the blue-haired boy.

A quick rap on the door stopped the painting on all 3 counts and Soul smiled at the boy who walked in.

Wes.

"Hello, Miss, I'm here to pick up Soul." He gave his little brother a wave before returning to the task at hand. "Is he, by any chance, finished painting this time?"

"I think so." Maka watched as Soul carried the canvas over to Wes, who smiled at it affectionately. "He'll love it, little brother." Soul beamed and, with Wes' help, placed it by the wall to dry. "We'll come back in an hour to pick it up, alright?"

Ms. Mjolnir smiled and nodded, shooing them off. "Have a wonderful day, boys," she said, smiling when they left. "One own, 3 to go." She eyed the three of them carefully before going to sit at her desk, a safe distance away from the children.

"Maka, shouldn't you stop ignoring him?"

"Soul? No way," she said quickly, not looked at her friend.

"Maka, it was probably an acci-"

"It wasn't an accident, Tsubaki," said Maka, eyes on the painting. "How do you dip someone's pigtails in red paint by accident?"

"He was just teasing, Maka, you know that."

"Fine. He was just 'teasing'," Maka returned the paintbrush to its cup. "But if he tries it again-"

"He won't," said Tsubaki. "Next time you see Soul, just talk to him, okay?" She smiled. "What's the worst that could happen?"

* * *

 

When Soul found Maka at the Death Mall alone, he knew there was a problem. He had been minding his own business- well actually Wes had been trailing him as they played tag until he caught the familiar sight of her pigtailed hair. He was ready to go race up and tug on the locks when he noticed a tear drip down her chin. She was crying, and Soul paused a few feet away.

Her tears were not common to him, and, as per usual, comforting did not come second nature to this 6-year-old. She was sitting at a wooden bench. It was strange, and people were giving her weird looks as they passed by.

At that moment, Soul watched as a man knelt down and asked her what was wrong. She shook her head, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. At this, Soul moved forward, striding as far as his legs would allow.

Maka seemed very surprised to see him there and appeared even more surprise when he took her hand and dragged her away from the stranger, who just stared after them, confused.

"S-Soul," she got out, "What are you doing?"

He didn't answer, opting instead to go into a furniture store. He spotted 2 chairs appropriate for their size, and quickly found himself sitting in a plush chair, still holding her hand.

Would the stranger follow them? He hoped not. The man didn't seem very safe... Such thoughts spun through his head like a whirlwind, and he didn't notice Maka peering over at him from her chair, green eyes flickering between their hands and his face.

"Soul?" He turned his head and looked at Maka.

"Hmm?"

"You know, you're still holding my hand, right?" he tried to jerk it away but she held fast. "Don't take it back. I feel safer with it, okay?"

He nodded, a little confused. "Why are you all by yourself?" he asked. Her cheeks pinked and she opened her mouth like she was going to speak, before turning away quickly. "You're not going to tell me?" he said incredulously. "If you're still mad about the paint then-"

"It's not the paint," she said, "I'm not mad at you anymore."

"Then why are you by yourself? It's Father's Day. Shouldn't you be with you dad?"

"I  _was_  with him," she said quietly, "but..." she paused, not sure of what to say.

"But what? Was he in the washroom? I hear old people need to go to the washroom more often than little kids."

Maka giggled before shaking her head. "No, he's not in the washroom."

"Then is he asleep on a bench like a hobo?"

"Soul!" she gasped, which made him laugh.

"I'm just kidding, Pigtails," he said, "He's sleeping on the floor." Maka laughed. "There we go. You're usually much happier when you talk about your dad, like yesterday when we were painting."

"Sorry."

"It's okay," he said, "You're sad about your dad. Do you want to go look for him?" She bit her lip nervously.

"Papa told me to stay where I was."

"Well, I already moved you so too bad," he said, standing up and tugging her along with him. "So, you want to look for him?" She nodded. "Alright. Do you remember which way he went in?"

She bit her lip again and Soul could see that he wasn't getting anywhere with her. "Well, your dad likes chalk, right?"

"Chalk?"

"You know, the stuff he puts in his mouth and weird smoke comes out?"

"Oh yeah!" said Maka, excited, "I knew they started with a C."

"Great! Maybe he's buying more chalk," suggested Soul, who began to drag Maka out of the store. "Do you know where to buy chalk?"

Maka pursed her lips. "No. I should have asked Ms. Mjolnir where she buys her chalk."

"It's okay," said Soul, pulling her through the mall by her hand. "I think I know where to find some."

"Really?" she asked as Soul led her past a large toy store and an equally large clothing store. She gaped at the robot that leaned out into the halls, an attraction point that drew children from their parents.

"Of course," said Soul, drawing another hand up to point at the shop up ahead.

"The D-dollar Store?" asked Maka curiously. "We'll find chalk there?"

"Yes," said Soul, "I always thought that chalk was just for writing on the board but I guess you can make the smoke from it too.

"I guess," said Maka, letting Soul take her in silence. With Soul, she found that comfort came before talking and that worked for him. He didn't always like talking to Maka, but every so often wasn't so bad.

When Soul walked through the large openings, he was struck by how tall everything was. The shelves towered over him, and if they were to fall, he knew they would be squished flat.

He went through the store, scanning the aisles for the red-haired man that Maka called her father. "Do you see him?"

"No," said Maka warily, "It's not safe here, Soul."

"Safe?" They stopped next to the aisle with plastic flowers that hung out of bins perched high on racks. Looking, but not finding anything, he turned to Maka, slightly upset at not finding her father. "What do you mean by 'safe'?"

"I just don't like how this place feels."

"Don't worry. I'll protect you."

Maka smiled a little. "Ah- thank you. Papa says that too, sometimes."

"Don't worry, Pigtails. I won't make you lose me like you lost your dad. Promise." She squeezed his hand and Soul felt a rush of pride and accomplishment. Yes, a boy always protects the girl, even if the girl is annoying sometimes and has pullable pigtails. "So if your dad isn't buying chalk, where is he?"

"We could try the book store."

"Bookstore?" Soul seemed perplexed by the notion. "Why the bookstore?"

"Papa takes me there all the time. Maybe he's getting a book for my mom. Her birthday is in a week."

"Okay, we'll check," said Soul, enthusiastically, pulling Maka out and into the long halls of the mall. However, when they got to the store, he wasn't there. Nor was he there at any of the other stores they visited. Soul was feeling awkward with every store they visited. The people in the mall whispered odd things about them.

Some talked about how 'cute' they were, and others talked about how strange it was that their parents were not there. But all the searching stopped when, all of a sudden, they were approached by a tall man in a blue-ish uniform. "Excuse me," he said, kneeling to their level, "Do you know where your parents are?"

Soul placed himself between Maka and the uniformed man. "We're looking for her dad right now, so no."

"So you're lost?"

"Not really. Her dad is lost. We're trying to find him."

"I see. Well, would you like me to help you find him?"

"No thanks, we're fine." Maka squeezed his hand nervously, but he held hers tighter to comfort her.

"I have cameras all around the mall to help you find her father. She looks rather frightened, don't you think?"

Soul's eyes flinted over to her face which, now that he thought about it, made her look rather wild and scared. He stared back at the uniformed man, suspicious. "And how do we know to trust you?"

"Would it be better to have someone else to vouch for me?"

"Huh?"

"Maybe my partner can convince you of my trustworthiness." He whistled long and hard, and suddenly a woman with long brown hair arrived. "Kids, this is my partner, Camille D'Eclair."

"Hey, kids," she said smiling, and Soul instantly felt more at ease. "I hear your parents got lost. Any chance we can get your names?"

Soul and Maka exchanged looks. "My mom always tells me not to talk to strangers," said Maka softly from behind Soul.

"Well, you know my name is Camille, so I think we aren't really strangers right?"

"Soul," he said, staring at the woman with confidence. Showing fear was not an option. "Soul Evans."

"Nice to meet you, Soul," smiled Camille, before looking over at Maka, "And your name is?"

"Maka Albarn, Miss Camille."

"Awww." The woman ruffled Maka's hair affectionately. "Well aren't you a cutie. I have the perfect way of finding your father, alright?"

They nodded together and soon Camille was leading them to a small information booth at the end of the hall. "So," she said amiably, holding Maka's other hand, "how exactly did you lose your father?"

She stared at the ground, anxious. "She doesn't like talking about it," said Soul to Camille, and the woman just gave a small smile.

"It might make her feel better if she talks about it. What do you say, Maka?" she asked, smiling at the little girl. "If you tell me and Soul what happened, it might make you feel better."

Maka was silent for a while before speaking. "He told me to stay where I was," she said, "on the bench. I didn't know where he was going so I asked. He said he was going to meet up with someone and that he would be back for me." She glanced up at the woman with sad, wide eyes. "Why didn't he come back for me?"

Camille looked at the girl sadly, "I don't know, honey, but I'm sure he's worried about you. We'll find him with the cameras and call him on a big speaker, is that all right with you?" Maka nodded. "As for you, Soul," The boy almost jumped at being addressed. "Your father will be called. As it happens, your family owns one of the musical establishments in the mall so we have his number."

Soul nodded, happy to see his father, but unhappy about Maka's unhappiness. How could a father leave his child so easily?

"Ah, I just realized," Camille said suddenly, "Soul, how did you find Maka?"

"Oh! Well..." He thought of his game of tag with Wes in the interior of the mall and seeing Maka alone on the bench. "I was with my dad but she was crying and I was...wondering why she was crying."

"So you were worried?"

"No, I was just curious," he said stubbornly, "Besides, my dad would send my brother to look for me. Wes is probably checking all the spots I usually hide in this mall."

"You hide?"

"For hide-and-seek? It's a great place," he said happily, and he was pleased when Maka cracked a slim smile as well.

"Well, I'm sure your father will be happy to see you. That aside, I have a few things to say to Mr. Albarn."

As it happened, so did Soul, and when Mr. Albarn arrived sobbing to pick his daughter up, Soul delivered what he thought to be a very well deserved kick in the shins.


	7. Independence Day

Soul was very sure of many things. He was sure that the sky was blue and that Back Star was his best friend. He was sure that colouring for more than 5 minutes hurt his hand and that reading was definitely overrated. Above all, he was sure that school was for chumps and that Maka Albarn had the magical ability of never knowing when to  _shut up_.

But now, with the pair of them sharing a picnic bench, he realized he wasn't sure of much of anything. It seemed like she was feeding him endless amounts of useless information just to rub in how much he did not know.

Even now, as he was trying his best to ignore her, Soul was sure she was prattling on about the significance for July 4th or about the correct star alignment that signalled the winter solstice (whatever that was).

He supposed this was his punishment, though. He had chosen to listen to Maka instead of Black Star, and it had gotten him bored out of his mind. Even though the alternative would have been his egotistic friend, he thought that perhaps he would have found at least one thing interesting in Black Star's speech. He silently prayed for the fireworks to erupt about the night sky and light up the darkness like it always did.

"Soul!" His dark eyes snapped to hers at his name, before narrowing.

"What?"

"Are you listening?"

"'Course not," he said causing Maka to gasp. "You're so boring."

"Wha- Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are TOO!"

"Am NOT!"

"Are TOO!"

"Alright, kids, break it up." Soul looked up to see Wes standing over them, hands on their shoulders. "We shouldn't be fighting about this."

"He started it!" insisted Maka, while Soul just snorted.

"Of course he did," said Wes soothingly, placing himself between the pair. "It's summertime, and neither of you are in school. Can't you lay off your feud for one day?"

"No!" they shouted together, before glaring at each other around the 10-year-old's body. Wes sighed, rubbing his face tiredly.

"I take you out to see fireworks and what do you do? Get into a fight with your classmate. Wonderful, Soul."

"Hey, it's not my fault," he grumbled, huffing at his older brother. "Why do you always take  _her_  side?"

"She is a young lady, Soul, and we must be respectful to them. That's what being an Evans means."

"Well, why can't it mean something else?" he cried, standing up from the bench. "Why do we have to be nice and polite and  _plastic?_ "

"We're not plastic, Soul," said Wes, exasperated, "We're just different. As men of the Evans household, it is our duty to-"

"Well, I don't want to be different!" He threw himself into the crowd, pushing and shoving his way in. He was just fed up of everything; piano, Wes, Maka's ramblings. Perhaps he could lose himself in these crowds and never look back... The dream of letting go of his troublesome past seemed tempting but-

"Soul!" He froze, instinct telling him that he was lost and needed to be found. But he started moving soon after, trying his best to ignore the shouts for his name. "Soul, come back!" Wes sounded scared- as he should, thought Soul. The older boy had never paid too much heed to him in the first place. He wanted him back so Mother could always compare and always compliment him. But Soul was tired of always being tested and compared. Soul was tired of everything being an Evans had forced upon him.

However, the new voice that called out to him seemed very different.

This voice was high pitched and girly and nervous.

This voice was Maka's.

"Soul!" she called, "Where are you?"

"Go away!"

"No! Soul come back! Please?" He heard murmurs from the people behind him and realized that he had not caused them. On the contrary, someone else was working their way through the tall legs of adults.

And they were fighting a losing battle.

"Soul!" shouted Maka, "Please come bac- excuse me, sir- SOUL!- excuse me- Come back. This is hard for me. I can't- sorry about that- Soul!"

There was a huge boom, and Soul felt himself being pushed and shoved in just about all directions. The people were moving, and they weren't stopping for anyone. It was like a giant wave had decided to become made of people and were pushing on Soul to follow the steady flow of people towards the large bonfire that had started up ahead. He did his best to push his way out of the crowd, dodging legs that threatened to stomp him down. He fell plenty of times, but by the time he threw himself down onto the clear patches of land outside the crazy mob, he was relaxed.

Well, as relaxed as he could be before realizing that Maka had never gotten out; that she was still trapped somewhere in that sea of smelly feet and sweat. "Maka!" he called out, before remembering that with the fireworks strong and vibrant, there was no chance of anyone hearing his shouts, least of all Maka. He went back into the frenzy, not bothering to call out her name, and instead of searching for the blue gown and red ribbons she had decided to wear that day. She was hard to find since he was going against the general flow, sweating terribly from the effort even on a summer night, but he persisted. A man, least of all an Evans, left a girl alone. It just wasn't right, especially since her parents had merely left to buy dessert for her. It wasn't sensible to do such a thing to an annoyingly talkative 6-year-old.

It wasn't cool.

He found her going in circles at the heart of the crowd, her ribbons lost with her hair down. She was crying, the tears staining her cheeks and he felt waves of guilt. She looked absolutely terrified. When she saw him, though, the hopeful look was visible in her green eyes, and she ran towards him with an excited look.

The first chance he got, he snatched up her hand, stared into her eyes and whispered something in her ear, before dragging her through the crowd to safety.

It was much harder than it had been the first time, he realized, but it only made him work harder.

Boys protected girls. That was the way he had been taught, and he refused to forsake his principles just because she was annoying to him. Soul held her hand tightly as he fought his way through, and when he finally reached the end, he was gasping for air.

Maka collapsed on the ground, exhausted and took Soul with her. The pair lay there in the dark, nothing for light save the brilliant flashes from the fireworks that graced the night sky. Blues, reds and whites graced the Nevada sky, and for a quick moment, Soul's breath was taken away by the fireworks instead of his tiredness.

He glanced over at Maka when he heard her sniffle and sighed. "Don't be such a cry baby, Pigtails."

"It's all you fault," she sobbed, curling onto her side and cradling his hand to her chest. "It's all your fault for running away that we got lost and separated and  _hurt_."

"I'm not going to apologize," he cut in, but the look on her face made him soften. "I mean, it's not all my fault."

"Yes it is," she said, using a spare hand to scrub away tears. "It's all your fault. You ran away and left me all by my self, so it's your fault."

He frowned, a part of him disturbed by her words. "I didn't leave you alone. Wes was there."

"Wes isn't you," she got out. "You told Mama and Papa you'd stay with me. What happened?"

He tugged on his hair nervously, the guilty feeling coming back to him like a speeding car. "Oh, yeah..." He really didn't want to apologize. Everything inside him detested it, but Maka wouldn't stop  _crying_.

"Look, I won't leave you again, I promise."

"Promise?"

"Yeah, I promise." Soul stuck out his pinkie and held it out to her. "Pinkie promise."

"A pinkie promise!" she gasped excitedly, and it was like the tears had never existed in the first place. "Okay!" She hooked pinkies with him, her face glowing. "You can't break it now, okay?"

"Okay," he sighed, more thankful than anything that she had stopped the waterworks and calmed down. He felt himself relax, only to flinch at the boom of another fireworks. He'd been so focused on escaping the crowd to realize the fireworks save his small glance. "You like fireworks, right?" he asked softly, and he could see Maka nod out of the corner of his eye.

"Yep," said Maka, squeezing his hand, "We have the best view."

He glanced at her and seeing the awe in her face, smiled up into the brilliantly lit sky. "Yep," he said, watching another firework spread across the sky. "The best view."

**Author's Note:**

> This is an old fic I'd worked on a couple years ago that I'm just now posting on AO3. You can wait for the monthly updates here or scoot over to my FFN account to read all 13 chapters in full. Please note that although the AO3 chapters will have been reviewed and editted a little bit (ie: addition grammar or syntax), the core content will remain the same and there should be no major changes.


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